Book Review: Begone the Raggedy Witches by Celine Kiernan
Media Type: Ebook (ARC)
Title: Begone the Raggedy Witches
Author: Celine Kiernan
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pages: Hardcover; 288
Release Date: September 11, 2018
Source: NetGalley / Publisher
——————————————-
Content Screening: Mild Fantasy Violence
HDB Rating: 4 Keys to My Heart
Recommended to: Readers of all ages who love a good story about family, filled to the brim with magic.
Add it on: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
When witches kidnap her dad, Mup is swept up in a wild tide of magic that carries her to another world. Can she reunite her family and find her way back?
On the night that Aunty dies, the raggedy witches come for Mup’s family. Pale, cold, and relentless, the witches will do anything for the tyrannical queen who has outlawed most magic and enforces her laws with terror and cruelty — and who happens to be Mup’s grandmother. When witches carry off her dad, Mup and her mam leave the mundane world to rescue him. But everything is odd in the strange, glittering Witches Borough, even Mam. Even Mup herself. In a world of rhyming crows, talking cats, and golden forests, it’s all Mup can do to keep her wits about her. And even if she can save her dad, Mup’s not sure if anything will ever be the same again. First in a new trilogy by Irish author Celine Kiernan, this tale of family and forbidden magic charts a fresh path through the landscape of beloved fantasy tradition — and promises to bewitch any reader in search of stories to love.
This is my first book by Celine Kiernan, but it definitely won’t be my last. Although Begone the Raggedy Witches is aimed at young readers, this is a story that will resonate with readers of all ages. It’s a story filled with family love, tough choices, and beautifully created magic. Books like this make my heart sing, because they don’t talk down to their intended audience. Kiernan weaves an exquisitely vivid world around Mup and her family, and it’s one that I guarantee you won’t mind being lost in.
FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.